Diary of An Avid Switcher Part 5 – Upgrades, Audio & Effects

How To Upgrade Avid Media Composer

So in practice for the anticipated installation of Avid Media Composer 7 I’ve decided to actually update my Avid installation to MC 6.5.2.1. As always with Avid nothing is as simple as it could be, so here is a quick guide on how to upgrade your Avid Media Composer installation.

The general workflow is:

0. Write down your system ID

1. Deactivate your licence

2. Uninstall Avid

3. Re-install Avid

4. Reactivate your license

To find your system ID load up Media Composer then go to: Avid Media Composer > About Avid Media Composer. You’ll see your System ID on the right handside of the branded Avid launch image. Scribble it down.

To deactivate your current installation of Media Composer from within the program go to Special > Deactivate Software License. You will need to be online to be able to do this.

Next head to Applications > Avid Uninstallers and run the uninstaller. You will want to have all the boxes checked for a straight forward update.

Download the update you’re upgrading to from the Avid site and run the installation. Once installed the next time you launch AMC it will ask you to reactivate your license, do that and then you’re done. Phew!

Speaking of Scott he recently posted this great collection of tips on his Pro Video Coalition blog sourced from editor David Michael Maurer but helpfully expounded upon. Definitely worth a read by Avid editors of any calibre.

AVID MC Pro Tip: Want your VO to sound awesome? Add an AudioSuite Compressor/Limiter to it. Set Ratio to 8.0:1 and boost the Gain to taste.

Media Composer & Boris FX

So when you get Media Composer it comes with Avid FX a slightly lite version of Boris RED (as far as I can tell?). This was recently updated to version 6.3 and can be downloaded from here. So what do you do with this ‘in app’ titles and effects tool?

Well for some paid for training (looks a bit old?) you can hit the Boris FX site or for a searchable solution visit its user forum. For some freebies check out this free webinar presented by Steve Holyhead on creating ‘Everyday VFX’ in Media Composer which will take you through some Pan & Zoom techniques, creating a ‘beauty pass’ and a selection of effects from BCC 8.2. Although Steve is using Boris Continuum Complete 8.2 you can still learn plenty.

Title Tips and Effects

Motion Tracking in Avid Media Composer

No instalment of an Avid Diary would be complete without a tutorial from Kevin P McAuliffe and in this Creative Cow tutorial Kevin demonstrates how to do basic motion tracking inside Media Composer to composite some text behind a passing car.